Sponsored post: Make the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon your goal for your winter running and make those miles over the festive period count

With the shorter days and cold weather setting in, now is the time to finalise your springtime running plans.

If those plans include taking on a marathon then the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon on Sunday April 8, 2018, could be the perfect spring race for you.

With 95% of runners promising to be back, places are being snapped up quickly for the UK’s flattest, fastest and friendliest marathon. So don’t delay and make sure you secure your spot.

Should you decide to take part, you will be signing up for a race which features:

• A super-fast course with only 54m elevation gain
• A substantial British and Irish-only prize fund
• A glorious 8m wide finish outside Emirates Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club
• Excellent organisation
• Superb crowd support and first class entertainment
• A route measured to international IAAF standards

To give you an idea of how fast this course is, at this year’s event back in April, 86% of the top 50 recorded a personal best or season's best and 50% of the top 250 clocked a PB. This race is YOUR best change to secure a marathon PB.

The race is also a great platform for charity fundraising and supports a number of well-loved charities including Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, the Christie charity and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity.

Make the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon your goal for your winter running and make those miles over the festive period count! Visit www.greatermanchestermarathon.com

» This article was first published in our 2018 marathon guide supplement, included with the November 9 edition of AW